Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence to discuss access to quality education for girls in developing countries

Deputies and Senators will hear from representatives of Plan Ireland International, Misean Cara, Concern and ActionAid on the measures in place and proposals to increase access to quality education for girls.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Committee Chairman Brendan Smith TD said: “More than 130 million girls worldwide are not in school with the majority, close to 100 million, excluded from secondary education. Girls face multiple barriers to education including poverty, cultural norms and practices, distance to school, poor infrastructure, violence and insecurity. Ireland has a key role to play in helping provide better access to education for girls in developing countries and Members look forward to hearing from the aid agencies on how this can best be done.”

The meeting in Committee Room 1 can be viewed live here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.